Basics. “Always, basics first,” award-winning singer Dolly Guleria stresses on priority number one. Sur abhyas, voice culture, speech therapy, presentation, dress sense, communication with the audience, stage fright, classical fundamentals...when Dolly takes her seat at the guru gaddi, then the shishyas have to sit up and listen. “It’s only when you listen, that you learn,” says the self-confessed ‘tough trainer’ who’s all set to start her year-long music workshops. “Six to 60, age is no bar. What we stress upon is voice quality and aptitude. Music for me goes beyond that clinical text book learning. It’s not something you pick up and mug. One can never master all raagas in a lifetime, but what one can do is appreciate, practise, understand, feel the music from heart, for its essence is so deep that once you touch it, it never leaves you,” feels Dolly, who in the process, also trains her students to be better human beings. “I am a strong believer of the guru-shishya parampara. What a guru can teach no text book can.” Yes, she agrees television has corrupted this spiritual art by making it an easy affair. “Commercialization is making it lose the real sense. It takes years of hard work to be an accomplished artist - this is the difference between a star and an artist,” her aim is obviously to make artists out of her students and give them an equal platform to sing with her at the end of the workshop on stage, and in her albums too! Speaking of which, the famed singer is all set to release another on Sufi, one on ghazals, experiment a little with Mata di Bhedaan. “We can call Mata with more love and little noise,” she smiles, also looking forward to singing her mother’s, late Surinder Kaur’s songs with her daughter Sunaini.
All those who want to join the workshop can register dollyguleria@yahoo.com and ssguleria@hotmail.com.
